Role Model

One Liner: Mac Miller-ish rapper turned pop rock rocker
Wikipedia Genre: Pop, bedroom pop
Home: L.A. (via Pittsburg)

Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 4
Day: Friday
Both Weekends.

Thoughts:  Trying to know what you are about to hear, based upon appearances, is a fool's game here.  Good looking young guy in a cowboy hat - ah, this will be country.  First song - oh, no, its bright pop.  Dig into the old music - a rapper?!

So, interesting backstory, in that he started off as a rapper, and has since transitioned into a poppy rock.  Impressive to be so talented as to do either/or.  He enrolled at Point Park University in Pittsburg to major in film, but after two broken wrists kept him stuck in his dorm room, he started messing around with friends' music equipment and made a few rap mixtapes while teaching himself to use Logic Pro.  He soon dropped out of college and started rapping under the name Tucker.  Which makes sense because his name is Tucker Harrington Pillsbury.  Which sounds like the name of a prep school kid who plays lacrosse in Massachusetts.  He later changed his name to Dillis and kept rapping.  

But in 2017, he switched the whole thing up - changed his moniker to Role Model and started singing more, while still rapping a smidge.  His debut EP, available on Spotify, has him sort of straddling the line between rap and singing.  Makes me think of a worse Mac Miller.  Haha!  I just read that he has called Mac Miller an inspiration!  I swear I wrote the thought above before reading his citation of Mac.  I have to say that his initial EP (2017's ARIZONA IN THE SUMMER) is no where near as good as his later tunes that are more popular on Spotify.  He definitely figured out a better sound.  The top track from this era is "i don't rly like u" with 7.2 million streams.

After that, a lot of singles until another EP, 2019's oh, how perfect, which shows him changing styles and getting a lot more streams.  "hello!" has 48.5 million.

Still a sort of rapping cadence to his singing, but I like that style much better than the initial EP's sound.  His next EP brought up his top streamer overall - 2020's our little angel EP and "blind." 133.9 million streams.

Sort of a Dayglow vibe, but again with Mac Miller style singing involved.  That lady is not very nice to him when he looks like a real sweet fella.  His first album is called Rx, and I've run through it without ever really feeling great about anything in there.  Definitely still dabbling in rap, like "neverletyougo."

But it is the new album, 2024's Kansas Anymore, where he hits a great stride and becomes the best version of himself.  All ten of his most popular songs on Spotify right now are from that new disc.  And, I think, for good reason.  I get a Ben Kweller whiff in there, as well as more of that Dayglow fella.  By the way, Wikipedia claims that he chose his moniker after the Paul Rudd movie.  It actually says: "Pillsbury allegedly took his name from Paul Rudd's character in the 2008 film Role Models," but Paul Rudd's character in the movie couldn't have been called Role Model, right?  That would be deeply weird.  Anyway, his top streamer overall is "Sally, When The Wine Runs Out," with 55.3 million streams, and on the new album.

Maybe a John Mayer vibe running through there this time?  Or Harry Styles.  Mac Miller is long gone in that tune (well, until the rapper bit in the middle).  Either way, I find it fun and engaging.  The whole new album is leagues better than the old stuff - hopefully that is the show that he is here to play.  If that is the case, I think it will be pretty fun.